Gold-saving apparatus.



J. W. NEILL. GOLD SAVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APE.21, 1913.

1,100,904. Patented June 23, 191 1.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J19. James TVTNeiZZ.

J. W. NEILL.

GOLD SAVING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED Amml, 1913.

1, 1 00,904. Patented June 23, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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TTED STATES PATENT @FTCE.

JAMES W. NEILL, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

GOLD-SAVING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES W. NEILL, a citizenof the United States, residing at Pasadena, in the county of Los Angelesand State of California, have invented a new and useful Gold-SavingApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is intended for use in connection with riflles in whichthe gold and other metals or minerals are separated from sand, gravel,etc., by the action of running water passing over an inclined surfacecarry.- ing the riffles. In such apparatus there is a tendency for theriffles to become clogged or packed with heavy fine material such asblack sand, preventing the riffles from performing their function ofseparating the gold or metallic values and allow the gold or values topass over the riflles into the tailings.

The main object of the present invention is to avoid the loss of goldand other values resulting from such clogging of the riflles and toprovide means whereby the material in its passage along the rifiles issubjected to a jigging operation which efiectively separates the goldand prevents packing of the black sand.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, andreferring thereto:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the complete apparatus including therifiles, jigging devices, and means for recovering the values separatedfrom the materials by the jigging devices. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionof the lower end of the riffles, showing the jigging devices therein.Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the jigging devices. Fig. 4 is avertical section thereof.

Referring to Fig. 1, the apparatus comprises, for example, a dredgerbody 1, suitable means such as a drum 2 to which the gold bearingmaterial is supplied by the usual dredging and elevating means, saiddrum operating as a rotary screen for the material, rifiles 3 adapted toreceive the screened material from said drum, jigging devices 4. forminga part of said rifles, discharge sluiceways 5 for carrying away thetailings from the rifiles, a conveyer 6 for receiving the materialseparated by the jigging devices, and suitable apparatus 7 forseparating the values from such material, delivered- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed April 21, 1913.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Serial No. 762,728.

there by suitable elevating means such as l pump 36. It will beunderstood, that, in practice, the riffies 3 are arranged in sections,side by side, only one section being here shown, at each side of thecenter.

The rifiles 3 may be of any usual or suitable form, comprising, forexample, an inclined floor or riffle surface 10, side walls 11 for saidsurface and cross strips 12 on said floor forming the obstructingriflies for the material. At suitable points in the riffle, for example,near the lower end, are interposed one or more jigging devices, two ofsuch devices being here shown, and it will be understood that anydesired numbermay be used. Each jigging device comprises a box or casing13 extending transversely of the riffle section and'below the riflle'surface, and a partition 14: extending within said box or casing anddividing the interior thereof into two vertical chambers 16 and 17extending side by side and communicating at their lower ends, each ofsaid chambers extending the entire width of the rifile section, saidchamber 16 constituting a jigging compartment and being open at the top,so as to communicate with the space through which the water and materialis passing over the riffle,

and the other chamber 17 constituting a piston chamber and being closedat the top by a plate 15 which extends in the inclined plane of theriffle floor, cross bars or riflie strips 12 being provided on top ofthis plate so as to form a portion of the riiiie means. Cross bars 18are also provided at the top of the chamber 16 which act in the mannerof riffle strips in obstructing the flow of material While permitting avertical jigging motion of the material. The upper edges of these crossbars 18 are located in the same inclined plane as the upper edges of therifie strips 12, and the jigging chamber is located in advance of someof the riffle strips 12, as well as in advance of the riffle strips 5 inthe continuation 5 of the riffleway, while other of the riflie strips 12are located in advance of the jigging chamber, so that the riflle strips12 and the cross bars 18 form a continuous inclined series of riffiemembers. A screen 19 is provided in the jigging chamber 16 to aid inretaining a bed of material in position in said chamber, while allowingvertical movement of the water for the jigging operation and downwardmovement of the fine gold, black sand, and other valuable minerals ormetals. A piston 20 works vertically in the chamber 17, being operatedby suitable means such as piston rods 21 connected thereto and extendingthrough fixed sleeves 22, the upper ends of said piston rods beingconnected to cross heads 23 with which engage eccentrics 24: on a shaft25 operated by any suitable mechanism. Means are provided for supplyingwater to the respective jigging devices, said means consisting, forexample, of a pipe 26 leading to a source of water pressure, forexample, a tank 27 and communicating through valves 28 with the interiorof the respective boxes 13. Said boxes may be provided with outlets 32for separated material and with removable doors or man-hole closures 29for facilitating access thereto for purposes of repair or V cleaning.The jigging device or devices may be located at any desired position inthe inclined rifile and I have secured good results by use of a singlejigging device placed at the extreme lower end of the riffle. In order,however, to insure a maximum saving of gold, it is in some casespreferable to provide a plurality of jigging devices located somewhatabove the lower end of the riflle, so as to permit of a certain amountof riflle action subsequent to the jigging action.

The operation is as follows: Gold bearing material such as gravel issupplied to the screen 2 in the usual manner, and the screenings fallonto the upper ends of the rilile floors 3 and are washed down over theriliies by the action of water supplied along with the said material.Coarse gold is readily separated by the rifiles, but the finer gold hasa tendency to pass over the rifiles into the sluiceways 5 and thistendency is accentuated by the tendency of the riffles to become cloggedby black sand. When any riflle becomes clogged in this manner, the freshmaterial passing down over the riflle does not enter between theriffles, but passes over the top of the rifles without any rifilingaction thereon. Any such material eventually reaches one of the jiggingdevices and passing over the jigging chamber 16 thereof is subjected toa jigging action in the following manner: The water in the box or casing13 is kept in a state of movement by vertical operation of the piston 20in such manner that the water in the chamber 16 moves alternately upwardand downward. The upward material between said riffle bars, the finerand heavier particles including the gold, platinum and some of the blacksand. By reason of their function as rifl'le bars, bars 18 tend to holdback or retain a certain portion of the gold and this portion isimmediately withdrawn downwardly in the next succeeding downwardmovement of the water. The

gold which is not caught or retained by these bars 18 passes on to thesucceeding portions of the ritlleivay and into sluiceway 5 and issubjected therein to further riffle action to recover a further amountof gold, the sluiceway being provided with riflie bars 5 for produc inga further riflle action. This further riffling action is rendered moreefiicient by the previous removal of a portion of the black sand by thejigging device. This trapping out or elimination of black sand from thematerial, by operation of jigging devices interpolated in the rilfleway,including the riffles proper and the riflied sluiceway, is an importantfeature of my invention, as it permits the riffles to act moreeffectively on the the material by reason of the freeing of the materialfrom the obstructing black sand. In case more than one jigging device isused, said devices operate successively on the material to removesuccessive portions of the gold and of the black sand. The materialseparated from the main body of the material passing down the riffleway,by means of the jigging device passes to the lower part of the box orcasing 13 and may be drawn off continuously or from time to time asdesired through the outlet 32 at the bottom of said box. Said materialin general contains a considerable amount of values and in order to savethe same, the material is conveyed by the conveyer 6 and pump 36 or byany other suitable device or devices to the separating devices 7, whichmay be of any suitable form or type such as amalgamating plates, cocoamatting, concentrating tables or other devices suitable for separatinggold from black sand. Water is supplied through the pipe 26 insufficient quantity to make up for the outflow of water through outlet32 along with the separated material, and for loss of water due toaction of the piston, but not in suflicient quantity to produce materialhydraulic action, it being a feature of the present invention that thepresence of the jigging device does not affect the amount of water inthe riifleway or the rifliing operation, except in preventing packing.In case the jigging device ceases to operate for any reason, theriflieway may still be operated in its normal or usual manner, the partsover the jigging device then operating like the rest of the riffieway.

The device above described not only separates the black sand from theother material, but screens it so as to provide for most effectivetreatment by other processes if desired.

WVhat I claim is:

1. In combination, an inclined sluice, a jigging compartment interposedintermediate the ends of the sluice, means for producing a reciprocatingcurrent of Water in said 1 jigging compartment, and an uninterruptedseries of closely spaced rifile elements in a common plane throughoutthe sluice and over the jigging compartment.

2. The combinationwith an inclined rifileway provided with a series oftransverse riflies, of a jigging device interposed in said riflleway insuch manner that some of such riffies are located in advance of saidjigging device, and said jigging device is located in advance of otherof said riflies, said jigging device comprising a box having a jiggingchamber open at its top into the riflieway, means for producing avertical reciprocating movement of Water in said chamber, and ritHesextending transversely of the riflieway at the top of said jiggingchamber, the upper edges of said riffles being located in the sameinclined plane as the upper edges of the aforesaid riffles in theriffleway, so as to form a continuous series of rifiies.

3. The combination of an inclined riflieway provided With a series oftransverse riiiles, of a jigging device interposed in said riflie- Wayand comprising a chamber open at its upper end into said riffleway, andriifles extending transversely at the top of said chamber andconstituting in connection With the aforesaid ritfles, a continuousseries of riflies, and means for producing the vertical reciprocation ofWater in said chamber.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 12th day of April, 1913.

JANEES W. NEILL.

In presence of ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, MARTHA M. LANGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

